


A Simple Family Dinner

by BattyRayne



Category: Tattered Weave (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:21:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22756201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BattyRayne/pseuds/BattyRayne
Summary: The Rain wants her best friend the Hero to come over for dinner tonight with her family. She gets a little bit more than she asked for, but she's confident she can make it work! This story was written for the February 2020 writing contest.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	A Simple Family Dinner

_ “…” _

“Yes, I know that, but this is different!”

_ “…” _

“I know we did, but I’m still…This is a huge step, you know? It’s not like when we just run into him out and about, this has  _ intent!” _

_ “…?” _

“Well, yes, but all of them pretty much invited themselves in the first time, that wasn’t really me reaching out.”

_ “…!” _

“What? No! I did want them to be there, I was relieved! But this time I have to invite someone!” The Rain sighed, rubbing the silk of her mask’s veil between her forefinger and thumb pensively. “I know I’m overthinking it. I know it’s not the end of the world if he says no, it’s just that I  _ really _ hope he says yes!”

Typhon the Mawnite gently butted her head with his, a tiny clicking purr of reassurance echoing through his skull. His expressions of affection were always reserved, yet Rain felt exactly what her ally was attempting to convey and wrapped her arms around his blackened skull.

From here Typhon’s quiet voice was almost a loud whisper.  _ “You are the Hero’s dear friend. He will not be cruel to you. Even if he cannot attend, he will be happy you asked.” _

“You’re right,” the Rain said, “and he’s my closest friend. If I can get comfortable asking my best friend to visit, then asking the other major players in the future will be a cakewalk!”

_ “He’s up ahead.” _ Typhon said, his voice growing faint as he pulled away. Just as he said, the Hero was hunched over a barrel, digging through it with his back to them. If there were any doubt as to which armored Thespian this was the figure was covered in ink stains, there was a huge, gaping hole in his armor (and him), and rooting through the barrel right alongside him was Mawnite.

Rain hovered there for a moment, gathering her courage even as her body betrayed her anxiety in how she fretted with her mask and rocked on her heels. They talked every day, but every time she had to ask him for anything it was always like this, her heart pounding and the words drying her mouth out as she struggled to speak them. It didn’t matter that he’d become like a brother to her, it didn’t matter that he’d never gotten angry with her, approaching him with intent was always hard to work up to.

Rain swallowed hard, gently tugging her mouth into a smile as her hands wrung themselves. “H-Hero? Hey, Hero! Stocking up for the Prop Cart, eh? I just wanted to ask you if you wanted t—ARE YOU EATING GARBAGE?!”

Hero spun around, sword at the ready and mouth full of someone’s discarded, wilting salad. Mawnite also shot up, eyes turning into pinpricks of light with an incriminating blackbird bone in his mouth. When they saw who it was, they relaxed, Hero letting his sword arm fall to his side and Mawnite waggling his tail, still chomping his bone.

“Rain, m’ fren…” Hero mumbled through a full mouth, but Rain’s pointing finger silenced him.

“YOU’RE COMING TO MY HOUSE FOR DINNER LATER!” she shouted, jabbing her finger at him with none of her prior shyness. “…if you want to, I mean. My mom and I are cooking. And I’m sorry for yelling.  _ Stop eating garbage. _ ”

Hero couldn’t speak at first, but a grin spread across his face as he nodded eagerly. After he swallowed he grabbed Rain’s hand and shook it. “I would be honored to visit your house, my friend! It is only fitting that the Hero shouldn’t scoff at the hospitality of the Thespians he protects, and to be invited to the home of a friend is an opportunity to be treasured. I must ask you first, however, if perhaps Mawnite—"

“He’s also invited. I’d never dream of leaving him out in the cold.” Rain assured him.

“Excellent! Tell me when to make my appearance and, ah, how exactly I should find your home. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it!”

“You have, Hero, you came by when—oh, right. You wouldn’t remember.”  _ Damned curse, _ she thought to herself as she traced out a mental map. “Alright, you know that big, grandiose mansion stage left near the Wolf’s forest, the one not too far from the ladder you climb up to get into the Loft?”

“Ah, of course! I’ve seen it many a time!”

“My house is the dinky little shack beside it, most likely featuring a scribbled chalk drawing of an Eludance on the door that the rain hasn’t washed away yet.”

Hero’s expression didn’t flicker, not that she expected judgement from a man who lived in (and often under) a tattered cart. “Let me think…ah! Yes, I do dimly recall such a place, though not with a lovely drawing like you’ve described. Very well! Mawnite and I shall be there at the time you specify!”

When the Rain returned to her house, her mother was still in the early stages of meal preparation. Snow beamed at her daughter, a black Nibblug perched on her shoulder licking a batter-covered spoon. “So, is your friend showing up?”

“Er, yeah! He’s coming. Um. Hey, we’ve got enough to make extra, right? Like, if more people come?”

Snow glanced back into the kitchen, then turned back with a shrug. “I suppose so. Why, how many can we expect?”

Rain sucked in through her teeth, feeling blood drain from her face. “Besides Frost and Thunder? Five. Plus kith.”

Snow was quiet for a moment, the only sound that could be heard was Petrichor the Nibblug thoroughly enjoying her spoon. Finally, she spoke. “Rain…did you invite  _ all _ of the major Roles to dinner tonight?”

“I didn’t mean to!” Rain sputtered. “I only meant to invite the Hero, I swear, but then—“

“We are going to be hosting the Hero, Dollmaker, Witch, Wolf  _ and _ the Scribe?!” Snow cried, still too startled to register that Rain had spoken. “I mean, I was nervous about you inviting the Hero, Raindrop, but Wolf?  _ Scribe _ ?!”

“They’re my friends too!” Rain sputtered weakly. “Besides, I’ve been wanting to invite them over. Just…maybe not all at once.”  _ And maybe not with my family around  _ she added in the privacy of her head.

“How did you manage to invite the entire main cast when you only intended to bring  _ one _ ?”

“Well…”

* * *

“Oh, are you going to visit the Rain, Hero?” an inquisitive voice asked. “Well I have to head that way later on myself. I needed to get your input on some ideas I had regarding the weather. I think we’ve gotten too predictable on the Stage; not that I don’t appreciate a dark and stormy night like anyone else but what if we mixed it up a little? Like, what if we had sleet, or hail, or hey, get this, freezing rain! It’s all in my books back Center Stage, but I’d like to run it by you before I get all the weather Thespians in on it. You’re more approachable than some of them.”

“Scribe? What are you doing all the way out here?” Rain sputtered, startled.

Scribe rolled her eyes. “Veilious put it to a vote and the consensus was that I wouldn’t mind if they used all of my ink supply for finger-painting. Hero’s the closest supplier who isn’t scared of me.”

“Ha! What have I to fear from you, tricksy Scribe? You’re not the Narrator’s pawn anymore, and have set your feet on the path of good and right! True, you still falter, but with effort and the guidance of noble peers such as our friend here—“

“Can I stop you there? Thanks.” Scribe turned to Rain, and even through her mask Rain could tell she was smirking. “So, whaddya say? Can I drop by your place later? So long as I’m not, like, intruding on something, I mean.”

* * *

The Snow pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a long, slow breath. “You could have said  _ no, _ Rain.”

“I know, but I…I dunno, she was so excited, and she’s usually so busy, and when will we both actually have time to visit like this again?”

Snow bit her lip, then sighed, running her fingers through her short black hair. “Alright. So how did you wind up getting everyone else to agree to come here?”

“Well, after that I had to go pick up some more ingredients since we were adding more guests to the get-together, which meant a visit to the Witch’s cottage.”

* * *

“Miss Rain!” Witch squealed as Rain walked in. “Ooh, you’ve got Typhon with you too! Do you want a meringue bone, Typhon? Lots of Mawnites I know like them!”

(“Like them!”) Castwick echoed eagerly.

Typhon declined the offer, but he did bend down to allow Witch to scratch his muzzle as the Rain browsed the shelves. When she approached the counter with her purchases Witch stopped admiring Typhon and counted out Rain’s payment.

“Ooh, blackbirds, bleeding-heart berries, fat frogs and lots of flour! All this stuff would make a super tasty meal! (Tasty, YUM!) What’re you making, Miss Rain?”

“Oh, my family is coming over for dinner tonight, but I wanted to bring Hero over to get to know them better since they hear me talk about him all the time.” Rain chuckled. “Oh, but Scribe’s coming too. She wants to talk about the weather with me, apparently.”

Witch’s eyes lit up. “Whoa! Mister Hero and Miss Scribe?! Lucky! (…Lucky?) Yes, Castwick! That sounds like a lot of fun, and they’ll see Miss Rain’s family too! (Oh, lucky!)”

Witch sighed wistfully as she tucked away the payment and bagged up Rayne’s groceries. “Sounds a lot more fun than my night’s gonna be. Castwick and I won’t have any visitors, unless Grandma decides to come by. (Grandma visit?)”

Typhon glanced at Rain curiously, head tilting ever so slightly. Not that he needed to, for Witch had barely gone quiet before the words were tumbling out of her mouth.

* * *

“And because you invited the Witch, you also needed to invite the Wolf.” Snow muttered, pinching and rolling dumplings into attractive shapes.

“Yep. And because I invited the Wolf  _ and _ Hero, I needed a mediator just in case.”

“So you invited Dollmaker.”

Rain nodded, taking care not to cut herself as she sliced the beets.

“Well, at least  _ he’ll _ behave himself. You really should have started with him!” a younger Thespian man cackled as he danced with Rain’s Eludance, Storm.

“This is Rain’s house, Frost, not ours,” a woman reminded him. “if she wants to invite a volatile cast over for dinner and get us all killed, she has every right!”

“Thunder!” Rain snapped, violently sweeping the beets into a waiting pot, “Look, I know this is sudden, and I know I just dumped it all on you guys but…but…”

The words wouldn’t come. They spun out of reach even as she grasped for them, the annoyed glares of her family only strengthening the storm inside. Suddenly, small arms wrapped around her leg. A bony face gently brushed itself against her cheek. A squishy, gelatinous mass grabbed her hand and held it tight. The storm went quiet.

“Um…hey guys!” Rain muttered, gently patting each of her kith on the head. “It’s fine, I’m fine…”

She was better than fine. Since her kith had stopped the spiral in its tracks, she found her voice again quickly. With them hanging off her or hovering nearby, she found confidence that hadn’t existed only moments before.

“It’s important to me that I introduce you all.” she continued. “Dollmaker, Wolf, Hero, all of our main cast are severely lacking in family, and so I’ve kind of adopted them. I love them all dearly and I want you to love them too! Or at least, understand why I do. And I want them to love you, too! I want to bring my family closer together. I just thought I’d be doing this a little more gradually, heh.”

There was an uneasy quiet for a moment, and then Frost clapped his hands together. “Alright! Let's get to it, then!”

“Really? You’re just going to pretend that didn’t just happen?” Thunder scoffed.

“No, but we don’t have time to unpack it right now. I’ve just seen Hero and his bone thingy come walking up the path.”

“WE DON’T HAVE ENOUGH CHAIRS!” Rain shrieked as she barreled out the door, dislodging kith and nearly bowling over her siblings as she rushed past.

Hero arrived to find Rain and her kith dragging in benches, barrels and large pots from the garden into the house. End tables were slid up against the dining table to accommodate all of the extra guests, and even though everything had come from inside the house it barely fit, suggesting that this structure had never been meant to entertain so many people. He was gracious enough to help carry in the extra seating, though his help meant that someone was going to be sitting in a fresh ink stain when they sat down. Rain took note of it and grimly decided it would be her pants taking the bullet.

Seating arrangements were also something she had to consider. Putting Wolf and Hero together was asking for disaster, and putting Witch too close to Hero would be just as bad. Rain fretted about it for a moment before guiding Hero to one of her nice chairs, nice meaning of course that it was actually a  _ chair. _

“Here, Hero, you sit next to my mom. She’s nice! Then Dollmaker will sit across from you and to the left, Scribe will be next to me, Thunder will sit next to Wolf and Witch, which leaves that space between Witch and Dollmaker for Frost…”

“I do hope we’re not imposing on your hospitality, Rain.” Dollmaker said as he ducked through the doorway. “It seems that you’re bursting at the seams to accommodate us.”

“It’s fine! I never have company over!” Rain chirped in a chipper tone. “Oh, right, the kith! I have a little table that my allies like to use for tea parties. It’s a bit small, but we have plenty of cushions and Storm’s brought out their crayons and coloring books to share with everyone. If anyone would rather sit with their ally, though, I can move things around…”

“I believe Eludance is fine with this arrangement.” Dollmaker said warmly as Eludance toddled over to the table where Petrichor and Storm were already scribbling away, Petrichor in a book and Storm on the table. Mawnite was in the kitchen with Typhon, butting and prodding the larger kith hoping he would play. Typhon was too busy putting the finishing touches on dinner with Snow to pay him any mind, though Rain did hear him assure the smaller Mawnite that he would play later.

Rain flitted about here and there, putting food out on the tables and setting out plates and cutlery and pausing only to greet new guests and direct them to their carefully-chosen seating. Wolf, Witch and Castwick were last to arrive, Wolf clearly uncertain about entering such a small space when she knew she’d be sharing it with Hero, but thanks to Rain’s planning she didn’t have to look at him directly which seemed to help. Most uncomfortable with everything was her blood family, who had to be split up among the guests in order to maintain the harmony. Thunder and Snow were beside each other and Frost’s seatmates weren’t too intimidating, but Rain herself was seated nearly on the other side of the table from them and Scribe wound up at the head of the table, the furthest Rain could get them from her but also woefully visible. Many backstage Roles were still wary of the new boss, and Rain’s family was no exception.

Conversation was stilted and clumsy at first, only occurring in short, safe bursts. Hero held out a hand to Snow, likely grinning even wider than the mask he wore. “Hello, mother of the Rain! I am the Hero, it’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“Yes, I know. I’ve met you before.”

Snow saw Rain signal something to her from across the table, then she nodded. “Ah, my mistake. We’ve never met. I don’t know who you are. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Hero. I am the Snow.”

“Snow! Now that’s something we haven’t used enough.” Scribe said as she stabbed at her plate with a fork. “I mean, when used correctly snow can be just as dramatic and powerful as rain, if not more so! Like, can you picture how powerful some of Hero’s fights would have been juxtaposed against gently falling snow?”

“Snow is…difficult to maintain.” Snow replied, every word carefully spoken. Rain knew she was walking on eggshells around the person who wrote the scripts now, so she piped in with her own input.

“To make snow we have to freeze huge blocks of ice and then shave it into powder. It’s a lot more work than the rain, which is carried up in pipes, since we have to haul the grinders and the ice up ourselves, and the catwalks are already treacherous if you’re not careful. Not to mention how hard it is to cool down the ambient temperature to get things cold enough not to melt the snow as it falls!” Rain chuckled at Scribe’s bulging eyes. “Weather is an all-hands-on-deck job! That’s why our families are so big. Even though I’m the Rain I still have to help out if the script calls for excessive fog or high winds. Sure, there’s some magic involved, but not everyone in the family has the knack for it.”

“There was the Weather Witch some time ago. Long before I came on the scene, of course.” Snow recalled. “I believe that was the first time since the Tempest that we weather Roles were so revered. Naturally, we’ve always had some modicum of respect, but we’re not often credited for our efforts. If we’re doing our jobs properly, we’re never seen at all, really.”

“Oh no! So is us coming here super bad for you guys?” Witch cried.

“No, no, little guy, it’s fine!” Thunder reassured her. “If Rain hasn’t gotten into trouble yet, I think we’ll be OK.”

“I apologize for interrupting, but may I just express my gratitude to our host for providing me a dish not even native to our Stage for this lovely meal?” Dollmaker said. “This salad is a Hope recipe, is it not?”

“Actually it’s an Enchanted Forest recipe. It probably doesn’t taste like it, though, considering I tried to make it here without their special tools. Some things worked well, but it is missing a certain quality.” Rain answered.

“It is still delightful.” Dollmaker said earnestly, “My compliments to the hands who prepared it.”

“If we’re giving out compliments now then I might as well say my thanks, too.” Wolf barked. “I don’t often take the time to make something super fancy, but it’s nice to have something like that now and again. Thanks for inviting us, Rain.”

“M-my pleasure!”

Gradually things began to warm up around the table, though there were moments of tension such as when Scribe asked a question that was a little too prying for Rain’s family or when Hero wanted something from Wolf’s end of the table. Still, Rain felt a small thrill in her heart when she caught a glimpse of a smile whenever someone tilted their mask to take a bite to eat or when something was said that caused a small titter to come from all the occupants around the table. The lines blurred. For a time, a very short but precious time, it felt to Rain like any other gathering of extended family she’d been to, only better because she’d chosen some of these people.

The kith were enjoying themselves even more than their allies, occupied with the many things Rain’s kith chose to share with them. Occasionally one would break away to see what their ally was up to or to beg a treat from a soft-hearted person, but they seemed to be having a wonderful time talking and playing amongst themselves.

Of course, all good things must end, and all too soon Wolf was carrying a sleeping Witch and Castwick back home to bed, Dollmaker had to return to soothe the ghosts of the graveyard lest they begin to grow restless, Scribe’s work called her back and the Hero felt he had intruded upon the Rain’s hospitality for too long.

“But thanks for a great evening! It’s been a while since I’ve spent so long without staring at a page!” Scribe said. “To be honest, I’m starting to miss it. My fingers itch when I spend so much time idle. I’ll keep what you said about the weather in mind, maybe we can get some upgrades around here for you guys!”

“Good luck getting anyone to use them!” Frost scoffed. “The old fogeys like to do things the  _ old _ way. The young’uns like us don’t want to hear it from ‘em so we do it their way.”

“If you make it so that I never have to look at one of those awful grinders ever again, I’ll whip the whole family into shape to give you the snowstorm of a lifetime whenever you want.” Snow laughed.

“U-um…” Rain stammered, fretting yet again. Typhon gave her an encouraging nudge on the back to kickstart the words before everyone had gone home. “Feel free to come over…any time! My home is open to all of you!”

There were little tells such as the perking of ears and a flush of color on what was visible of the face that told her that they were happy to hear such a sentiment from her, and if her burning face was any indication she was the same.

Frost and Thunder stayed long enough to put her house back in order and box up leftovers before they left, leaving Snow with her daughter for a few minutes before she, too would leave. Snow helped Rain tuck the kith into bed, kissing them all on the top of the head before reading a bedtime story at their request. Even Storm was too tired to stay awake for the entire story, though Snow dutifully finished the book before putting it back on the shelf and dousing the lamps.

Rain escorted her to the door, thanking her profusely for the help, though Snow had yet to say a word to her. Finally, at the door, she turned to face the Rain.

“Rain…no, Rayne. I want to say something to you, face to face.”

Snow removed her mask before Rain had even responded, and waited patiently until Rain took off the veil that covered her face. Snow smiled, deepening the wrinkles that had started to appear on her face and crinkling the white eyes that she’d passed down only to her eldest daughter.

“You amaze me.”

“I…”

“Your heart is so big, and it amazes me every time. You’ve always been such a fearful child, worried about staying in line and doing as you were told, and yet you love so boldly, so deeply! You love the Scribe, who has taken the seat of the Narrator and who many still fear. You love the Hero, the broken shell of a man most have written off as a tragic lost cause. You love the Wolf, who has killed the Hero more times than I can count! You even dared to love kith, who you grew up being terrified of for most of your life! Where did all this love come from, my darling Rayne? I’m ashamed to say I know it wasn’t me.”

“I don’t know; it kind of just…happened!”

Snow leaned in and kissed Rain on the cheek, then stroked her long, white hair. “I hope it keeps happening. The way they look at you, I can tell that you mean almost as much to them as you do to me.  _ Almost _ .”

Rain squeezed her mother tightly, swallowing down the few tears that had tried to slip free. “Well you’d better be ready, then, because next time I’m gonna invite someone from Offstage over for dinner!”

“I look forward to it.”


End file.
